Washington, D.C. - March 8, 2018 - Achieve today announced the addition of 13 new members to its Science Peer Review Panel (PRP) to expand its work evaluating lesson sequences and units designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and sharing high-quality examples online.

Out of 300 applicants from 39 states, Washington D.C., and international locations, these applicants demonstrated extensive knowledge of the NGSS and a critical eye for high-quality materials designed for the NGSS. The new peer reviewers will join the network of 38 other passionate educators on the Science PRP with whom they can build a powerful community and share ideas and resources. The 13 new peer reviewers selected to join the Science PRP are from ten states: Arkansas, California, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, and Washington, representing rural, urban, and suburban school communities and different grade bands. Over half have identified engineering as an area of content experience, which is a high-need area for the focus of the Science PRP's work, and about half of the new peer reviewers have spent over a decade as classroom teachers.

Throughout the year, peer reviewers will receive free and meaningful professional learning experiences run by experts in the field and designed to deepen understanding of the NGSS and the EQuIP Rubric for Science evaluation process for instructional materials.

Not only is this a great opportunity for professional growth, but peer reviewers play a major role in advancing science education across the country. One of the biggest challenges in NGSS implementation around the country is a lack of high-quality instructional materials designed for the NGSS. The Science PRP addresses this problem by evaluating free and publicly-available materials with the nationally-respected EQuIP Rubric for Science, identifying high-quality examples, and posting them publicly for the education community - both teachers and publishers - to see what materials faithfully designed for the NGSS actually look like.

Those who were accepted to the Science PRP will receive recognition on the Achieve website; at the end of the year-long commitment, peer reviewers will be recognized with a certificate of excellence.

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